2 months already.

Well, I can't believe it...can you!? Brynlee is already 2 months old. She is doing great. We had her check up today and she weighs 10lbs exactly and is 23inches long. She is in the 20% for her weight and the 40% for her height, so she's great!

She can hold her head up very well...still some wobbles but she catches it. She smiles all the time. The huge gummy smile. She follows me around the room with her eyes, and responds to her name. She loves to sit at the table during dinner time instead of being in her swing. She LOVES for someone just to sit next to her and talk to her. You don't even have to be holding her. Her hair is growing in so good, and gettin a little lighter. She drinks 4oz every 3hours and sleeps from 9p-6a. Which I love. Most times she will eat at 6a and if I really want, she will go back to sleep till 9a. LOL. I'm kinda spoiled by my newborn!

She isn't that fond of her tummy time, she use to like it more than she does now, hopefully she'll like it soon so she can really get some strength in those tiny arms of hers. She got her shots today, oh I didn't realize how hard that was going to be for me! Thankfully my mom was here and she held her while I wiped my own tears. I know, it'll only get worse, especially when she knows she is going to get them and looks at me with her beautiful eyes! She has a fussy time from 6-8p and all you can do is cuddle her. All in all, she is a great baby.

Thats pretty much the update on Miss B. I love watching her grow, but yet want her to stay like this forever. My mom and sister leave this Wed so I will be updating more and putting up pictures. Have a great week!

Random Pics

Mommy & Brynlee
Mimi & Brynlee

Chillin in the tub, feet hanging over and all.

Right before the bath.

Baby Corn

Vineyard

Kylie in the Grapes

Us at the Mother Daughter Banquet

Sistas

Mom & Kylie

Rome~the Eternal City

Just a few pictures from our Rome trip. It was pretty awesome to see all these historical sites in person, we would definatly do this trip again!

St. Peter's Square

Trevi Fountain

The Arch of Constantine.

The Pantheon.

Dad & Kylie's Visit {pictures}

Most of these are pics from when Dad was here visiting(April23-May6). My sister Kylie got here on 27April and she doesn't leave till 9June. So she's still here, enjoying her niece!

Kyile and Dad in front of the Trevi Fountin in Rome.
Dad, me and Brynlee at Santissma Springs

Love it!

Right when Dad got to our house, he took a cat nap after his flights and Brynlee decided to join in on the fun. Lol.

Kylie, Dad, Me and Brynlee in Verona. The City of Love!

I love this. Eating at a cafe in Verona..I caught this pic!

Crazy Europeans.

Us in Venice

Me and My Tiny Baby Girl at Polcenigo Palace

Gorgeous Day.

Just Pictures...

For the few without Facebook, here are some pictures of our precious baby girl! She is growing so fast! I love this one above!

Loves her belly, most times, mouth wide open!

One Month Old.

Pretty Sunday Clothes.

Just because its been too long...

Wow, time does fly. It seems like just yesterday I was posting Brynlee's birthday story....and now here were are a month later already! Time goes so fast when you have kids. Even though I can't wait to watch her learn and grow up, I want her to stay tiny and all cuddles.


Brynlee is doing great. She is a great sleeper and rarely cries, but we all have our moments of unhappiness for no reason. Lol. She usually goes to bed between 9-10 and then wakes up around 3-4a and then gets up in the morning at like 7a. I am not complaining at all! Everyone who asks how much she gets up and I tell them, they are say I am lucky, lol. I say I am blessed! She is becoming more alert everyday and stays awake more often. She has started to smile, intentionally. I can't get her to do it all the time but I get so excited when she does.


My dad arrived in Italy on the 23rd and is here till the 6th. It has been great having him here. I can tell he is in awe just as much as we were the first time we met Brynlee. He loves being a grandpa and I can see some spoiling of her in the future. Haha. My sister got here on the 27th and is here till the second week of June. She loves being an Aunt and I can't wait to have her babysit so Nick and I can go on a date. Lol.


This past week has been a pretty busy one. Monday we went to Venice, Wednesday we went to Verona, and then late Friday night we left for Roma and spent all day Saturday there with a bus ride home late Saturday night onto Sunday morning. Brynlee has traveled more in her first month than some people have traveled in their lifetime! She is so good, just sleeps in the Moby wrap that my friend Margaret so graciously let me borrow. Its nice that she is so small still, because I would just stop and sit on some steps or something to change her diaper on my lap. Soon I know that won't be that easy, and even though she is a great traveler now, I know there will be some tough times traveling!


Yesterday was the first time Nick and I had been to Rome. We've been here over 2 years and still hadn't made the trip. We might go again the end of summer, because we were told they are opening the bottom level of the Colosseum for the very first time in July. Which would be pretty neat to wander through. Rome was very neat. I loved the Colosseum. When we turned the corner and saw it, it was like WOW we are really here. Hehe. The Trevi Fountain was very pretty and big, but there was SO many people there yesterday(Italian Holiday) as well as the Spanish steps, but they were so crowded you really couldn't 'see' the steps. Haha. Out of all our camera's, by the end of the day we had no batteries alive. I, mistakenly forgot to check the life of my camera battery so it died a lot sooner than I would have liked, and then my sister's died and then even my dads, which he had brought an extra battery died! So all we had left was our video camera which takes pics too, but we have never uploaded them to see how they look. But we went ahead and used it anyhow, better than not having a camera! Oh and the batteries didn't die right off the bat, we were pretty much done when the video camera died. So that was good! All in all, it was a great trip! Brynlee is gonna be mad that she can say she's been, but doesn't remember a thing!


Thats really all that I have for now. While my sister is here we'll be going here and there and maybe a couple longer trips. Then my mom gets here on the 18th of May and I am super excited about that! Hope everyone has a blessed week this week!

Brynlee's Birth Story

Here’s the play by play!


It all started Wednesday night…. March 31st...


Nick and I were just getting ready for bed {1030p}. I crawled into bed and Nick said something and it made me laugh….and I suddenly stopped and looked at Nick and said…”Uh I think my water just broke” He goes, “Really? Are you sure?!" So I get out of bed and was like, “um yes, I believe so”. So I went and checked and while doing so my mom ironically calls. So Nick is talking to her, telling her what had just happened.


So we got things together to go to the hospital. I called them {here we have to call them and let them know we’re coming to base} to let them know we are coming. I wasn’t panicked but I felt rushed. Even though I wasn’t having any contractions worth counting. I was very nervous in the car on the way there, shivering, not because I was cold, because I was nervous. Its what I do.


Got all checked in and waited for the doctor as she was in surgery. When we got the OK, saying it was indeed my water that had broken. They didn’t’ want to check my cervix since my water had broke {prone to infection} and I wasn’t having regular or painful ones at that. When the doc was done and came in she wanted to check me just to see where we were. 3-4cm and 80% at around midnight. She told me that she’d like to start Pitosin. I have been praying my whole pregnancy that I wouldn’t have to have Pit. So when she said that, I wasn’t thrilled. She knew I was leery but said since my water was broken she wanted baby out in 12 hours and no more than 24 of course. She talked me into Pit but started it at the lowest dosage of 1. After about 45 mins to an hour they upped it and then 30 mins later or so upped it again, we were at a dosage of 3. (She told me that was nothing, some people have to go up to 40!)


The lights were off, Nick was going in and out of sleep, I was trying but it wasn’t happening. The contractions were getting stronger and more frequent and as much as I didn’t want to get one, I pushed the call button and asked for an epidural! Lucky for us, the anesthesiologist decided to stay after surgery in case I wanted her services. ( They aren’t there at night, she was only there because they had a surgery. So she was either going to go home or sleep there if I might need her. She made the decision to stay, which now, I am VERY thankful for because she lived 20 mins away and would not have made it in time!)


Got the epidural, it didn’t work. Only thing I felt going numb was my lips and tongue. Haha! So she was messing with the meds and nothing seemed to work. By that point I was in loads of pain, actually I would say more pressure then pain. Not sure if that’s how it goes for everyone but that’s how it was for me. I felt like I needed to push, so the doc decided to check me again, and I was 7-8cm already. Big jump! They decided to do another epidural, she just added a spinal block to it so it was more instant but didn’t last as long. Sitting still for that second one was pretty hard! My contractions were very close at that time so we didn’t have time in-between them to get the whole epidural in. Fun times sitting still through a couple contractions!


Once that was in and going, it only took about 15 minutes and I could feel it in my legs. Sooner than I know it, I’m numb. I could still feel my legs, but couldn’t if that makes sense! Haha. I was then complete and ready to push. We barely got the epidural in and working before I was 10cm!


We had a little scare, they couldn’t get her heart beat and when they did it was a lot lower than it should have been. The doctor was really calm and that helped me not freak out as well. I just kept looking at her and back to Nick and so on. She put the internal heart monitor on her head but still couldn’t’ get a great beat….then she looked at me and said “ we have to get this baby out” I was waiting for her to say c-section, but she didn’t thank goodness, just the vacuum. She didn’t have to use it to get her out, just to get her in the right spot. Once she got her there, it was pushing time. I pushed for about 27 minutes.


Then finally we got to meet our gorgeous baby girl! They put her on my tummy right away and I was in awe. Nick cut the cord. She was crying before she was totally out, which I thought was kind of cool. Then of course they cleaned her up and we got to hold our baby.


There was a point, before the epidural that worked, I said “ I don’t want anymore kids!” But after it was all over and she was in my arms. I took it back. I would do it again, for sure. I love being a mommy. I love the way she just stares at me when she is awake, which right now is rare. It breaks my heart when she cries and I can’t figure out why. I love coming around the corner and seeing Nick cuddling her and kissing her. I know there will be hard days, but I already can tell that it will be totally worth it. I’ve only had her for 4 whole days and I couldn’t imagine not having her with us. I can’t wait till my family gets to meet her. She is such a little doll. I just sit and stare at her and rub her cheeks that are the softest skin I’ve ever touched. Making me wish mine was that soft. I want to show her off to everyone, friend and stranger, because I am so blessed that God lent her to us to take care of for Him. Now that I have tears after typing this last paragraph, I think its time to get off here. Thank you for all who prayed for me, as most know how nervous I was to go through childbirth. Continued prayers would be very much welcomed as we start our journey of parenthood.

The Truth Project

Our church recently started this study called the Truth Project. If you've never heard of it, I suggest going to the site and watching the trailer(there is a short one or long one). Nick and I have been going since it started, granted we only just finished the second lesson last night.


Every Monday evening we meet at one of our church members house and we have snacks and fellowship and then we start the hour long DVD lesson. Even though we are not that far into this 12 lesson series, I am loving it already. It has really opened my eyes to things that I would not have even thought about. After the lesson, we discuss it together. There are only 4 or 5 couples so its small and intimate and makes it very easy to learn from each other and what we each absorbed from the lesson. I probably learn more to a point afterwards when we all talk and explain things and so on.


Dr. Del Tackett is very easy to understand. I have to have it simple. He is. Even though he's talking about very real and complex things in this world.


I'm not so great at explaining things, maybe once we get further into the series. All in all, he's teaching us how to differentiate between World View and Christian View. Bottom line.


I am thankful for this series, as I believe and pray Nick and I both will get a lot out of it. We will miss one or two probably, depending on when Brynlee decides to grace us with her presence, hopefully we'll be able to borrow the DVD and catch up ourselves and then reunite with our small group and get right back in!


This is just one of the few things thats going on in our lives right now and I am very excited to see the outcome, and I just decided to share it with anyone who was interested. I do suggest watching the trailer, it gives more info about it.

Somewhat finished..

Well this past Saturday Nick and I accomplished quite a lot in the nursery. We honestly don't have a ton of stuff, we didn't do a theme, just colors. And with our lack of stores over here, its hard to find stuff to go in the room. So when we see stuff we get it but otherwise, no biggie. I really would love to paint a couple of the walls in her room, but with less than a year left in this house I don't really see the point. Most definalty at our next house, I will be a painter!

I know the curtains are a tad long, but I am going to tie them to the side and plus I don't want to cut them in case we need long ones in our next house!
Here's our little British crib. Lol. It use to be mine and my sisters. Its quite a bit smaller than the ones nowadays, but I was in it till I was 2, and I love the family value it has.

They aren't perfect, but I love them. I painted them and did the ribbons. Not the best bow maker, but it works!

The changing table/dresser and rocking chair. I am using the boxes as drawers and they are full of cute clothes! There will be a stuffed animal net on the left side to fill in that space, we just have to figure out how to hang it in on these concrete walls!

Thats all for now folks!

6 to go!

Oh wow, its been quite sometime since I posted...So I figured why not a little update...


I am 34 weeks pregnant today. Only 6 or less to go! Crazy how time is. I remember being only 8 weeks pregnant and thinking that this day is way far away...but really it wasn't that far! I have been blessed to have such an easy going pregnancy. Yes I am uncomfortable and yes she hurts me really bad sometimes when she kicks but in reality, of all the things that can go wrong, or just come about with pregnancy in general, I am very thankful.


I can't sleep very well anymore, 2 reasons: 1) I can't get comfy and 2) by the time I do get comfy enough, I have to get up to use the potty. And now its about every hour and a half to 2 hours...gah. I even stop drinking at 9 pm, doesn't seem to help much anymore, it use to. I have quite a few Braxton Hicks contractions throughout the day. No pain, just pressure and annoyance. My back is definatly hurting, especially the days I'm out and about. I have a wonderful husband that loves on me and rubs where it hurts whenever I need, most times I don't even have to ask. He's always telling me how gorgeous I am and how he loves the belly and so on, which I am very thankful for, because lately I sure don't feel that attractive and not to mention huge. Which I've been told I'm not, but its the biggest I've ever been, so to me I'm huge.


My sister and dad plan on coming out here mid April. I am very excited, my dad has yet to visit Italy so it should be great. He and my sis are planning on going to Rome together, as I probably won't be up for it just yet. We still plan on lots of local sight seeing and the close by towns like Venice, Verona, Milan....My mom is coming the second week of May. She would LOVE to be here earlier, or even for Brynlee's debut, but she is in Nursing school and its not out till then, we are all thankful she gets to come visit again though! When she gets here, my sis will still be here and then we all are going to Rome. So my sis will be going twice, if all works out in her favor. Hehe. I hope to have someone with me, whether it be Nick or a friend when I pick them up from the Airport, so it can be recorded-the meeting of the first grandbaby and niece. Oh it'll be a teary moment I'm sure.


We didn't buy a crib. My dad sent with us when we PCSed here, mine and my sister's crib. Its smaller then the ones they make now, especially since they bought it in England so it was intentially smaller to fit the smaller houses. It was white, and I am in the process of painting it walnut brown. Its looking pretty good, almost got it finished...I am hoping by the end of next week it will be done and totally dry so we can set it up. THEN I can start hanging the few decorations I have on the walls.


My baby shower is March 6th, next Saturday! Whew! My friends Holly and Margaret are throwing it for me. I am not one to love being the center focus and I absolutly do not like opening gifts in front of people, but now that its so close, I am getting very excited! I of course will have a post on how that went when its over.


I believe thats really it for now. I need another updated belly pic I know. When Nick gets off I will have him take one, just who knows how long it will be before I post it! Hopefully everyone has a wonderful Thursday!

3rd Trimester!

I can honestly say that up to this point, the time has really gone by pretty fast! Well in the begining I did think it was slow, only because I wanted to feel and look more pregnant. Well no need for that! I definatly feel and very much so look pregnant! Lol. I love it though. Sometimes I walk past the mirror and think, boy am I huge, but I know its for a reason and that reason will be in our arms sooner than we think.


I am really getting more anxious to hold our baby girl. I will sit on the couch and just think about it and wish she was here already....but in reality...we have lots to do still. Well maybe not lots but I sure feel like it. I think thats normal though. So I leave you with the 28 week / 7month picture. (Sorry, Kodi decided he wanted to be in the picture too!)

Paris Adventure

Nick and I made a trip to Paris this past weekend. It was totally worth it! The weather could have been better, BUT it definatly could have been way worse! We started out our trip in Venice and our flight was delayed for 4 hours! So we didn't get to Paris till 10p and still had to find our hotel downtown! Finally when we figured out what bus took us to the Opera, then found the Metro to get us close to our hotel, then our hotel. We checked in at about midnight or little later. We hadn't ate dinner yet so we were starving, and so we ventured out to see if anything was still open. We found a small kabob shop still open so we got our belly's full! We were going to walk to the Eiffel Tower since it was so close, but after we ate they shut the lights off already! So we went back to our hotel and mapped out our route for the following day!


We found a Starbucks around the corner from our hotel, so we decided that was our stop for breakfast. We got to Starbucks at 8am and then off on our journey we went! Started at the Eiffel Tower. At first, it was snowing and very windy. So we were like, Oh boy this is gonna be miserable. It snowed till about 3pm but the wind didn't keep up all day, which was really what made it bad.


After taking some pics of the tower and freezing, we made it to the Metro and headed to the Arc de Triomphe. Well we went to far and ended up at the Grande Arc, which was a huge shopping center. Walked around there, since we were there why not right. Then back tracked and found the Arc de Triomphe. Which I think was one of my favorite things. It was just neat. I definatly like it much better at night with the lights.


The Musee de Louvre was the next stop. We aren't artsy people, but decided to take the trip down there anyhow. We saw the famous Monna Lisa. Which was much smaller than you'd think. Walked around a bit and then headed to Notre-Dame.


Notre-Dame was pretty neat. We didn't go inside, which my sister thought we were crazy for, but she is really into the architecture and such. She took Art History. The outside was very detailed and it was awesome to be able to have the opportunity to go and see it.


Then we went back to the Arc to see it at night and then back to the Tower to see the lights. I love the lights so very much I could just sit and stare at them! It was a long day but totally worth it and so very awesome to spend that time with my very cool husband! We didn't eat any true Parisian food. We stuck to the safest and easiest, McDonalds. Haha. Don't laugh! It was great that they had them everywhere because I had to use the bathroom each time we saw one! Otherwise I'd have to pay to potty a lot! We left Sunday morning. One day was just enough for us. If you like art and want to see all the museums, then you might want to do another day, but thats not us so we were perfectly fine with one full day! And a thanks to Holly and Josh for watching our beloved fur babies! Now I leave you with some pictures!

I love this one above, I still haven't decided which one to blow up and frame.

We most definatly set the camera on the ground and set the timer!

Loving this one! The Tower in the background, that stupid crain is ruining it! Nick might be able to photoshop it out!

This was the first of the day.

The Arc de Triomphe

Musee de Louvre

Notre-Dame

Honey-Sauced Chicken Wings

I have been wanting to find a recipe for wings for awhile now. Nick loves wings, more like HOT wings but I figured I'd start small. Haha. I'm not a big wing eater, I don't like chicken with bones. Call me weird I know. I did however have some of these and the sweet flavor was very yummy! I think next potluck at church we have I might just make a batch of these! Very easy, since its a Crock Pot recipe! Which might I add, are my very favorite!


~2-3lbs chicken wings
~1 tsp salt
~1/2 tsp black pepper
~1 cup honey
~1/2 cup soy sauce
~1/4 cup chopped onion
~1/4 cup ketchup
~2 tbsp veg oil
~2 cloves of garlic (I used poweder instead)
~1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
~toasted sesame seeds, optional. (I obviously didn't use these, it would have made the pic better though!


Preheat broiler. Cut off and discard chicken wing tips. Cut each wing at joint to make two sections. Spring wing parts with salt and pepper. Place on broiler pan. Broil 4-5 inches from heat 20 mins or until wings are brown, turning once. Transfer to Crock Pot.

For sauce. Combine honey, soy sauce, onion, ketchup, oil, garlic, and pepper flakes in bow. Pour over wings.

Cover and cook on LOW 4-5 hrs or on HIGH 2-2 1/2 hrs. Garnish with sesame seeds if desired.


Side Note:
I do not have a broiler, so I just baked them in the oven for 15-20 minutes before putting them in the Crock Pot & I also baked them for about 10 minutes AFTER they were done in the Crock Pot just in case they were a little soggy I guess.


They turned out great and Nick loved them. Now I need to find a HOT wing recipe just for Nick! Anyone have one?!